Opposite flavours attract in this Valentine's week special menu in Mumbai

Dig into a menu that borrows from a famous romantic trope for dishes where sweet meets sour and coastal flavours are wooed by Western fare

Someone famously said that the way to a person’s heart is through food and with Valentine’s week officially upon us, we can’t help but surrender to the potent combination of food and love. While one can expect indulgent, heart-shaped dishes to pop out in popular joints, a collaborative effort by gastropub, Woodside Inn and Khar-based restaurant Kari Apla takes inspiration from a famous romantic trope to build a menu that celebrates the mingling of coastal flavours with a global western spread.

The menu features a mix of Indian and continental flavours

Aptly titled Opposites Attract, the Valentine’s Day special menu plays around with the comfort food fare of Woodside Inn and the coastal kick of Kari Apla. “The philosophies of both the restaurants are different but there is a common factor of comfort in our dishes. We thought why not bring these flavours together in a menu and present traditional Indian food in a fun and interesting way,” chef Mathew Varghese of Kari Apla tells us.

Coastal Negroni and curry leaf and lemongrass highball

Just like the course of any romantic relationship, the menu also went through multiple trials. “The moment the idea was finalised we jumped to conduct tastings to see how the dishes are coming out while sticking to fresh, flavour-focused ingredients. Be it the aloo tuk-inspired batata kaap or Bánh mì-inspired burger with a Kerala pepper fry patty and curry leaf aioli, you can expect the dishes to pack flavours with a hint of nostalgia,” Pankil Shah, co-founder of Woodside Inn, explains.

Batata kaap

If the mushroom stuffed ros omelette in xacuti curry and the Pondicherry inspired pouillabaisse pasta in coconut base gets too heavy, they can be washed down with curated cocktails like the coastal Negroni, featuring a piquant touch of kokum and the curry leaf and lemongrass highball with butterfly pea. “These drinks are available in non-alcoholic versions as well,” the chef quips in. If, like this writer, you also cannot leave a meal without a sweet treat, there’s a classic strawberry butter cake with cream cheese mousse and kaffir lime for a happy ending to the day. With such temptations on the table, be prepared to be swept off your feet.

TILL February 16; 12 pm to 1.30 am
AT Woodside Inn (Andheri, Bandra, Colaba); Kari Apla, Khar Pali Road, Khar West.

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